Tattoo
by Minalover
Summary: If you were to get one tattoo, what would it be? YukixKyou. Rated M just in case. Warnings: boyxboy, light swearing.
1. Rain

This has been in my head for several days now, so I thought I'd get it out. Thanks so much for reading, R&R if you please. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. I would be so much happier if I did.

Warnings: boyxboy. don't like it, please, turn around now.

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I don't really understand why I feel the way that I feel. I guess, in a way, I've always loved Kyou. I wasn't ever really allowed to, but those rules don't seem to apply to emotions. I've loved him for as long as I can remember. But as time goes on, it just gets harder to hide it. Every time he passes me in the hallway or I catch him in the kitchen, I just want to run up and hug him as tight as I can and tell him just how much I love him. I know it's not possible, but hey, a guy can dream, right?

"It's been raining pretty hard these past few days, hasn't it, Miss Honda?"

"Yes, it has. I'm not too upset about it though. We don't have to go out and water the secret base when it rains like this."

"I guess you're right."

I was speaking with Tohru on the front porch. She had made some tea, and we were talking about nothing in particular. Actually, my mind was completely on other things, things that I'm not sure she entirely understands. I told her about my feelings towards Kyou, and for a while it seems like she understood. But recently, she's gotten rather distant, and that scares me for some reason. I guess I had gotten a little distant too, but that hadn't ever stopped her before.

After the last time Shishou had taken off Kyou's beads, he took off. Something tells me that he took off with Shishou, but he was still gone none the less. Word from the main house is that Shishou is in the United States, so I can only hope that that's where Kyou is: nice and safe and sound. They'd been gone for months now, and his absence had only made me more withdrawn. Every day I came home hoping that he'd be there wanting to punch me in the face, just so I could see him, just so I could be near him again. Oh well, I thought to myself. He'll be back eventually, right?

"Yuki, are you finished with your tea? I was going to go back inside and clean up."

"Oh yes, I'm finished. Thank you Miss Honda, you really are very sweet," I said with a smile. Tohru was wonderful, but she just wasn't for me. She was my sister, not my lover. It was weird to think of her that way.

"Oh no! Thank you!" She bowed several times, even though I'm pretty sure she knows that she doesn't need to by now, took my empty cup and went back inside. After a few more minutes of sitting out in the rain, I decided to go inside as well. All I could think of out here was Kyou, and that sure wasn't helping my mood. The rain always made me sad, with it being so cold and windy and grey, and without Kyou, well, that feeling just got stronger.

I walked around the house for a bit before finally deciding to sit down at the table. The heater was on, so I promptly stuck my feet under the padding under the table and let them thaw for a little bit. My feet were always cold and the rainy weather wasn't helping them much either. I heard Tohru at the sink, tea cups jingling against each other as she rinsed them and put them out to dry. I looked over at the clock on the wall, and its long arms said 9:22. I knew it was late, my alarm was set for 4:30 the following morning, but I wasn't tired. Tohru, on the other hand, came promptly out of the kitchen after she had finished drying the teapot.

"I'm going to bed Yuki. Is there anything you need done before I go?"

"No thank you Miss Honda. You go upstairs and have yourself a good night's sleep, alright?"

"I will. Thank you so much. Good night!"

I turned back to the clock as I heard her go up the stairs. I listened while her feet tapped each step, and then she slid the door to her room open and then closed. The clock wasn't helping; it now read 9:25. Shigure was already asleep and had been for about an hour. He had been helping Ayame move a large shipment of fabric into his shop and came home exhausted. So, being the only one left in the house that was still awake, I started to think. Never really a good thing to think when you're sad, but there wasn't much else to do. I started to think about school tomorrow, all of my student council responsibilities and plans for the next few events, Tohru's leftover rice and teriyaki chicken in the refrigerator, what Kyou was doing in the States. Wait, Kyou? Of course. Of course my mind had wandered to Kyou. I missed him too much to not think about him. I wondered if it was raining much where he was. He never did particularly well in the rain, it always made him too tired to do anything. He was so much more fun to watch when he was energetic. His big red eyes would glare like he'd set them on fire, and he'd go out and do something. When his eyes were like that, it was usually because he was trying to beat the snot out of me, but I didn't mind. He hadn't landed a punch, or a kick or anything else, in years, and it was just wonderful to be near him. All too often I'd get too excited and actually fight back. I'd hurt him way too many times. Sometimes I meant it, because he'd been so stupid or so uncaring, but most of the time I didn't.

The rain was getting heavier and the noise it made on the house was getting fiercer. I was starting to worry about the doors, with them being paper and all, but I knew that Shigure had rain-proofed them so I didn't actually have anything to worry about. The lightning got brighter and the thunder got louder, and there was one thunder crash that actually made the house shake a little. Must be getting closer, I thought. Actually, now that I think about it, the sound was kind of numbing. All I could think of was the rain, and it was actually starting to push Kyou out of my mind. It's not like I didn't like him being there, but it was starting to get too sad for me. All of the traces of him around the house were almost gone. The milk was never gone, there were no funny noises coming from the roof, there was no one waiting to ambush me in the morning, and his towel, which was still hanging in the bathroom, didn't smell like him anymore. Oh, just stop thinking about him. You'll drive yourself crazy, just go to bed. I pulled my feet out from under the warm table and stood up. I was just about to head towards the staircase, when I heard a noise that I wasn't expecting to hear. For a second I thought it sounded like thunder, but it wasn't. Someone was knocking on the door. Actually, now that I listened to it, it sounded like someone was trying to pat at the door. Like a cat trying to get into a closed off room. Ha, a cat. That's not ironic at all. I walked over to the front door and tried to open it, but the wind was blowing so hard that I could barely move it. I took a good grip on the handle and pushed it over. I was starting to think that my senses were just trying to fool me, because I saw something that I wasn't expecting to see. I don't even know how to explain it. I forced the door open and I saw what looked like a man crouched over, leaning on the side of the house with his fist up to the door. So that's what was making that noise. I thought I was still fooling myself because what I saw next surprised me even more. This man had what was once bright orange hair. It was darker now, probably because it was all wet from the rain, but I'd know that head anywhere. He looked up at me, and I saw two big red eyes, defiantly weakened by the rain. He smiled at me.

"Yuki," Kyou mumbled.


	2. Home

Wow! Updates, new chapters, two days in a row. I rock. )

mychemicalunbalance: i'm so glad you like it! i'm also thrilled you like my writing. i was really frazzled yesterday when i wrote it, so i'm stoked that yuki didn't seem freakishly not like himself. if you have any suggestions, i'm kind of getting in a block as to where this should go. thank you, and keep reading! this chapter's for you. )

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"Kyou?" I asked back, my eyes about twice the size they were a second ago.

He grunted at me, probably too weak from the rain to speak. It had been so long since I'd seen him. So long. Too long. I stepped out of the door frame and grabbed him under the shoulder. _Kyou, you're soaked to the bone. And so cold._ This was the oddest thing to me. Kyou wasn't ever cold. Me, I was always cold. Kyou, never.

"Let's get you upstairs," I directed at him. He looked up at me, very weakly, and grunted as if to say "alright, but you'll have to carry me there". I saw a quick smile before his head plummeted back down. This was odd, especially for him. I don't think I'd ever seen Kyou smile at anyone other than Tohru. _It's probably just because he's so cold,_ I thought to myself. _Maybe his mouth muscles are so tight that they're twitching._ I pulled him over my shoulder as best as I could and took him inside. He was shuffling his feet which helped a bit. As soon as we got inside, I took him off of my shoulder and leaned him against the wall. He leaned against the wall, finally able to breathe, and I saw him start to shiver. His whole mouth was chattering, he must have been freezing. The moment I saw that he wouldn't fall over, I rushed over and slammed the door shut. I let go of the handle and the wind tried to push the door back open. I lunged back at the door and locked it shut. The wind beat against it now, but it wasn't opening back up. I turned around to start to go back towards Kyou, and I saw him poof into a cat. _You're safe now, it's alright._ I'm sure he knew that, but I just thought I'd think it anyway. Underneath the billowing cloud of orange smoke, his clothes lay sopping wet on the floor underneath a sopping wet almost-orange cat. The rain had made his fur darker, just like it had done to his hair, and he was now a red-orange color. Thinking quickly, I grabbed Kyou and walked up the stairs. It was much easier to carry him like this. _I just hope he doesn't change back while he's in my arms, _I thought to myself. _That would get very difficult._

We got up the stairs without any problems and I opened the door to his room. I could feel his whole body shaking in my arms and against my chest. _You really are cold, aren't you?_ I headed straight into his dark room towards his bed. There was enough light from the hallway to let me see where I was going, but still, it was a strange room. I don't think I'd ever been in here more than twice in the whole time he's lived here. He doesn't like me in his room much at all. _I wonder what he'd say if he knew I was in here now. _I fumbled my way through Kyou's room with a cat in my arms and finally found my way to his bed. I placed the soaking wet Kyou, and without a second thought looked down. Something caught my eye that I hadn't ever noticed before. There was a small black spot on the back of his neck. I brushed my finger up against it. _No, it's not a bug. Doesn't feel like blood. Huh, wonder what that is._ I looked at it more closely, and with the dim light coming through the hallway, it looked like the fur on this little spot on the back of his neck had actually changed colors from orange to black. I decided that it wasn't important and went to the hall closet. I opened the door and got out a towel and a blanket, and then went promptly back to Kyou's room. I headed back towards his bed and picked him up again, only this time, I wrapped him up in the towel. I scrubbed his fur gently, just to try and get some of the excess water off, and then gave him a little scratch behind the ear. He seemed to like this very much, because he turned his head and started to push against my hand, like he was trying to use my hand to scratch his own ear. I patted him down a little more with the towel, lifted him up towards me a little more, and kissed him on the top of his little cat head. I know that I probably shouldn't have, but he's probably too out of it to even realize it. And I'm even more certain that he won't remember it. _That's right_, I tried to convince myself. _I don't want him to remember it. Can you even think of what he'll say if he remembers?_ I took Kyou out of the towel and placed him back down on the bed. He curled up into a little ball right under the pillow, and it looked like the drying had helped, because he wasn't shivering anymore. _Let's have you sleep for a while, Kyou. It should help._ I placed the towel back on the bed, farther towards the foot of the bed, and had just turned around to go and get another blanket when I heard that oh-so-familiar poofing noise. _He just changed back, didn't he?_

I turned back around to face his bed and saw a very familiar shape. Kyou, back to a human, was curled up on his side with his head on his pillow: completely naked. I giggled. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself. I just knew what he'd do if he woke up right now. I'd be running for my life. _Oh well_, I thought. I grabbed the blanket and flung it over Kyou. I made sure his feet were covered and then looked back up at his head. He had grabbed part of the blanket and had pulled it towards his chest. Then I heard him grunt and he fidgeted around a little. I smiled. He was so beautiful while he was asleep. Once again, one of those things that I thought that he couldn't ever know about. I turned around and was about to leave when I heard something else, also completely unexpected.

"Yuki?" he grunted at me.

"Yes Kyou?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I walked out of the room and shut the door. I was so happy he was back that I could have exploded. I'm glad I didn't, but still, I could have. I went back downstairs to clean up the wet mess that we had made on our trip upstairs. I picked up the drenched clothes that were still sitting in a pile on the floor and put them in the laundry basket in the laundry room. I'd have to tell Tohru and Shigure he'd come back, but I'd do it in the morning. I grabbed a clean towel out of the laundry room while I was in there, walked back out to the entryway and did a fairly good job of mopping up my mess. Everything seemed clean and dry and quiet. It was a wonderful feeling. Everyone was asleep, everything was clean, and my heart was better.

Kyou was back. My Kyou.

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Muahahaha! Alright, that didn't need to happen, but I wanted it to. If anyone has any ideas of what you'd like to see, please let me know! ) Thanks for reading!


	3. Morning

This story is pretty much addicting, although, I have to say, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. sad

RollingOffHeads: That's a huge compliment, thank you so much. I love getting lost in fanfiction, so I'm glad that you can get lost in mine.

Nae'ka: I'm glad you like it so much. If you like the gentleness, then I think you're going to like the next few chapters I have planned out. I hope there's enough of it for you in this chapter.

A huge thank you to everyone who is reading this story. Please review it, it keeps me motivated to keep writing. Thank you!

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I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had in a long time. Everything just seemed right in the world and I absolutely loved it. I flopped out of bed and shuffled downstairs in my old white t-shirt and purple cotton pants. I think I was still half asleep when I wandered into the kitchen, but I think I was able to find my way there because I was following the delicious smells coming from within. I have no idea what was cooking but damn did it smell good.

"Good morning Yuki!" I heard from across the kitchen. Her voice made me spring awake.

"Well, good morning to you too Miss Honda. How did you sleep?"

"Fine, I guess. Shigure's up too, did you want me to serve breakfast?"

"Yes please. It smells divine in here. My stomach's jumping around just thinking of the delicious food to come," I said as I laughed. She stared at me like I had lobsters growing out of my ears. I guess I didn't laugh much, especially without Kyou around. "Oh, that reminds me, while the two of you are up, I have something I need to tell you."

"Oh, alright. I'll be there in just a minute with the food."

I walked out of the kitchen and to the table. I sat down and stuck my feet promptly back under the heated cushions. My feet were so cold, but they were much better now.

"So Yuki, how was your night last night?" asked Shigure.

"Fine, I guess. Miss Honda and I stayed here and drank some tea, then she went to bed, and then so did I. Nothing particularly exciting." Alright. That was a lie. Something exciting, very exciting in fact, had happened last night. Except that I didn't want to tell him without her here. Shigure stopped the inquisition and we waited in tired silence for Tohru to bring out breakfast. It had stopped raining, but the whole house was cool. Everywhere you turned you could smell the rain. The sun was out, but it still felt a little gloomy around here. Just then, Tohru came out with breakfast on a big tray. I took a big bowl and filled it full of rice and put some steamed leeks on top. _That looks delicious. I'm so hungry, this is going to be wonderful._

Once everyone got their first bowl of breakfast down and were refilling, I decided it was time to bring it up.

"Oh, now that I think about it, something exciting did happen last night. It was starting to thunderstorm when all of a sudden I heard this patting…"

And I got cut off by a groan from the doorway. Kyou was standing there looking like he hadn't slept or eaten in weeks. His hair had dried in sort of a funny cowlick and the pattern from the blanket was imprinted onto his upper chest. His body seemed exhausted but his eyes seemed to have a little more energy than they did last night. I guess the sleep really did do him a world of good.

"Speak of the devil," I said.

"Kyou!" Tohru screamed. "You're home! When did you get here?" She almost jumped out from under the table to get to him.

"Last night," Kyou finally spoke. It was the first time I'd heard him really speak since he got back. His voice was, well, it wasn't sweet, but it sounded almost sweet to me. "I almost collapsed on the front porch, and if Yuki hadn't have heard me at the door, I might have gotten to sleep in the rain last night."

"Yuki got you inside?" Shigure asked. "Doesn't sound much like him."

"Yeah, he did." Kyou was very frank. He didn't seem upset, but he did seem like he wanted Shigure to keep his big canine nose out of what happened last night. Not like much actually happened last night, but the less Shigure knows the better.

Kyou walked around Tohru towards the table and took a seat next to me. He shoved his feet under the table towards the heater, and for a second there, I thought our feet touched. They might have, but he must have pulled away because I couldn't feel them anymore.

"Can I get some breakfast? I'm starving," Kyou asked, lunging for the rice, bowl in hand.

"Of course you can," Tohru responded. "I'm so glad you're home, we missed you."

Kyou looked up at the word "we". He looked at Tohru and she gave him that big goofy smile of hers. He turned to Shigure and he smiled and nodded.

"Not like I missed you tearing up my house while you were gone, but it did get too quiet around here sometimes."

Kyou looked like he was about to cry, but I knew him better than that. I don't even know if Kyou knows how to cry, but even if he did, he wouldn't do it here. Then, without any warning at all, he turned and looked at me. I could almost see my reflection in those big garnet eyes of his. I missed him so much that it wasn't even funny. I don't know if he could understand it if he tried. Even if I told him, I doubt he'd believe me.

"Yeah, I've missed being able to beat you every chance you give me. It'll be nice to finally have someone to wail on again." I gave him one of my devious looks. He looked back at me with fire in his eyes, but not the fire I was expecting. It wasn't angry, it was… well, it was almost lustful.

"Don't worry," he said, with a silky smoothness in his voice that I definatley wasn't used to. "We'll fight again sometime soon. You can count on that."


	4. Return

Get ready for my favorite chapter yet. Woo! Any a huge thank you to all of my reviewers, you have kept me going. You want to see more story, you should keep reviewing. No seriously.

nae'ka: you'll like this one. and i hope you're having fun in china!

kitsuneneko88: this should give you a huge hint as to where this is going. muahahahaha. well, alright, maybe not, but it'll give you a huge hint to where it should be going.

mousecat: ha! i think that's the only thing that i know about this whole story. i knew that before i even started writing it. it's just a matter of where it's going to go in the story.

and thus - i fangirled: i'm glad you like it. i like writing cute stories. i'm hoping to get a little victory here, so please, read and enjoy.

vilyx3: i was hoping he'd turn out sweet. when i was writing, he seemed mushy. i'm glad he's coming across sweet though.

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That day went on without much of anything happening. Things were back to normal and it felt wonderful. Tohru, Kyou, and I walked to school and had a fairly uneventful day. Hana and Uo were surprised to see him back after he had up and disappeared for a few months, but soon enough we were all talking about plans for the weekend. It was already Thursday, so it seemed like an appropriate topic.

"So, what are your plans for the weekend?" Tohru asked everyone.

"There's a new book that I was planning to read that just came in to the library," Hana responded.

"Ooh, that sounds exciting. Uo, got anything planned?" Tohru was always very excited to know what everyone's plans were. It was her way of showing she cared.

"Actually, there's this rave on Saturday night that I was going to go to," Uo said with a smirk. "Did you want to come with me Tohru?"

"I don't think so," Tohru said politely. "I've got so much to clean this weekend. I have to re-rainproof some of the doors too… wait a second, what's a rave?" she asked. She had absolutely no idea what a rave was.

"A rave is a huge party," Kyou started. "People dance to this really excellent music for hours and hours on end. There are usually some crazy lights and people dressed like freaking clowns. There's some definite drug usage going on, but you can always avoid it if you want to."

"Wow, when did you get cool?" Uo asked with some snark.

"It was one of those things I learned about when I was in America. Shishou and I went to this city called Phoenix, and I met this guy named Joe. Joe and his girlfriend Alison raved all the time. We went to a few, and it was probably the coolest thing I've ever done." Kyou was having such a good time recanting his story, he didn't even notice he was starting to scream.

"Kyou?" I asked gently.

"What?!" he screamed back at me.

"You're starting to shout. Maybe you should calm down a little."

Kyou looked at me like he used to, looking like he wanted to hang me from the ceiling with my tie, but then he relaxed and took a few breaths. This was probably the oddest thing I'd seen all day. He was learning to control his temper. I didn't know if it was just around me or everyone, but it definitely not normal. Not for him.

"Sorry," he apologized, and went back to talking.

"So Uo, you think I could come along this weekend?" Kyou asked politely.

"Sure! I'm always looking for someone to go raving with. Besides, it'd be nice to bring along a guy for once. I hate dancing alone. Actually, Yuki, if you're interested, you can come along. It's really fun, and 

it'll definitely get you out of that house." It seemed like Uo wanted me to come along, and what was even better, or weirder if you think of it that way, was that Kyou wasn't fighting it. He was going to what sounded like a huge party and I was going and he didn't immediately refuse.

"Sure," I replied. "Sounds like fun."

On our walk home that day, Tohru asked me what I'd like for dinner. I told her that anything she cooked was fine with me, and of course, her face turned beet red. Kyou didn't say much of anything. He grunted a few times to questions she'd asked, but no words ever escaped. I suppose that the cloudy weather was still getting to him. Rain really did wear him out. With all of the energy he would need at the rave this weekend, I kind of hoped that the sun would come out for a while.

When we got home, Tohru headed straight for the kitchen. Kyou stomped promptly upstairs. I walked in, removed my shoes, and went into Shigure's office to tell him I was home. After that, I walked upstairs, backpack still in hand. I got to the top of the stairs and turned left to head to my room.

BAM.

I felt something hit my arm and it threw me off balance. I almost fell down the stairs I had just climbed. My backpack fell to the floor and I heard someone breathing heavily behind me. I got up slowly and readied my stance. I turned around ready to attack and I lunged. Something must have happened though because I missed. I didn't attack anything.

Instead, I had been caught.

I had lunged at Kyou, fists flying, feet prepared to pounce, and he had caught me. In mid air none the less. His arms were around me, one around my waist and the other around my chest, both of his arms under mine. I could have very easily used my free arms to beat the shit out of him right there, but I didn't.

This was the best feeling in the whole world.

He pulled me closer to him and then he loosened his grip as he put me down in front of him, but didn't let go. _I must be hallucinating. _I tried to prepare myself mentally to get mauled by his flying feet and fists of fury. I also tried to move my arms to defend myself, but they wouldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to hurt him. Not again. Not when he hadn't done anything to deserve it.

Granted, he actually landed a punch, and I was quite proud of him for that. I wasn't particularly prepared, what, with him being gone for four months, but still, I was proud.

I didn't know what to do. We were standing there in the middle of the hallway, right above the staircase. I was terrified that any second he would just let go and I would go cascading down the stairs and land with a big crack at the bottom.

But he didn't. He didn't even try. Actually, he pulled me closer.

I was almost completely pressed up against him. I was glad to see that he had gotten warmer again. Softer, too. I don't really know how soft he was before this little incident, but he was soft now just the same. Not like I wasn't already shocked enough at the events of these past eighty seconds or so, but then I felt him move. In one swift motion, he had pulled me into a full-on hug and nestled his head into my shoulder.

I almost fainted.

I reached up my free hands and wrapped them around his back. I nuzzled the side of his head with my head. I don't know how long we stayed like that. I didn't care to be honest. I could have stayed just like that for the rest of my life and have been just fine. It was then when I first realized what he smelled like. There was no other way to describe it. He smelled like pie. Sort of like cinnamon and peaches. He smelled like some sort of delicious peach cobbler. Granted, I think I could have gobbled him up even if he didn't smell like dessert, but it was still a delectable smell.

After some unknown amount of time, he spoke.

"Yuki?" he asked. It was so soft. He wasn't angry or upset, he didn't even sound flustered. It was wonderful.

"Yes?" I asked back. It was sort of patronizing, but I figured I could be patronizing right now and he wouldn't mind much.

"I missed you," he simply stated. His grip around me tightened. Those words, how rare they are. Especially from Kyou. Especially towards me. He sounded almost scared, and I could feel it.

"You know what?" I asked.

He lifted his head from my shoulder and looked down at me. It looked like there were tears starting to form at the base of his bright red eyes.

"Huh?"

"I missed you too."

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Hope you enjoyed it. Review, and I'll post the next chapter. I already have it planned out. So excited!


	5. Swing

Woohoo! This chapter has been in my head for for.ev.er, so I'm stoked to finally have it written.

hanyou-foxgirl: i'm glad you like it. here's your update!

vilyx3: i thought it was cute too. and i read somewhere (another fanfic probably) that he smelled like peaches. he always seemed too spicy for me to smell so sweet, but cinammon, he could pull that off. so why not make him smell like pie? he looks like pie. enjoy this chapter. i think it's even cuter.

disclaimer: i don't own any of the lyrics from tarzan. i'm not phil collins. i don't represent disney in any way. please don't sue me. it was just the perfect song.

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I loved having him home. I don't think there was any other way to describe it.

After our unexpected hug, we went our separate ways and met up again to eat dinner. Tohru had prepared some sort of fish, for Kyou's homecoming probably, and we all sat down and stuffed our faces. Occasionally, when I reached over to refill my empty plate, Kyou's chopsticks would already be there. I would look up and he would meet me: deep red eyes a-blazin'. With those eyes alone, I was pretty sure I never needed to eat again. We all finished our wonderful meal and I went straight to bed. I don't know what the rest of the house did, but I didn't know what else to do. If Kyou were to catch me again, something was going to happen, and I wasn't sure if I wanted it to.

Friday passed without much to report. Some more awkward stare downs with Kyou in the hall. Well, let me rephrase that. They were sort of awkward and longing for me, but he, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to lock me in his closet. Not like I'd mind in particular, but still, it was odd. Uo made sure that we were both still going to the rave tomorrow, and we assured her that we were. She and Kyou talked about some candy, but I didn't see much point to the conversation, so I moved on back to class.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early. I always woke up early, but it was so early that the sun wasn't up. That might have been from the immense cloud cover, but still, there wasn't much sunlight. I looked over at the clock on my bedside table. 4:49 AM it read. I got out of bed and put on some clothes, and went downstairs. I wasn't particularly hungry, so I stood at the door waiting for something to hit me.

And finally, it did.

While Kyou was gone I really didn't have much to do, so I found a nice park about a mile away. It had a nice swing set and a few jungle gyms. I hadn't ever taken to playing at parks, but I found that swinging took my mind off of Kyou, and so I swung often. I pulled my iPod out of my pocket, unwrapped my headphones, plugged in and sat down. I pushed off from the ground and stuck my buds in my ears. I don't know when I had become accustomed to swinging, but I found myself doing it at almost every spare moment that I could get out of the house. I put my songs on shuffle and tried to find something good. I buzzed through The Used, Boys Like Girls, and T.a.t.U, but finally settled on some Phil Collins. It was from Tarzan, and even though I had seen a horribly dubbed version of the movie, the song always intrigued me. It was about five in the morning, and I knew very well that no one was around, so I began to sing.

"Come stop your crying, it will be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry."

I started to get all swept up in the song, thinking about how much it reminded me of Kyou. I wanted him to protect me; I wanted his hands in mine. I don't ever want to see him cry.

"For one so small, you seem so strong. My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry."

This song was starting to read my mind, and I didn't like it. It did, however, remind me of Kyou, so I forgave the song and moved on, singing more loudly and passionately as the chorus came.

"Cause you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and forever more. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart. Always."

I was starting to get upset with the song again. I loved him so much; part of me was disgusted with myself. We had been enemies for all our lives. I was supposed to hate him. He's always been in my heart, and he'll always stay there. I tried to hold it back, but I couldn't.

A single tear swelled in my eye and strolled down my cheek.

"Why can't they understand the way we feel? They just don't trust what they can't explain. I know we're different but deep inside us; we're not that different at all. And you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on now and forever more."

I wanted Kyou right here. I wanted him to know how much I loved him and how much I wanted to crawl into his arms and never come out. I wanted him to know what I knew. And in all truth, I wanted him to feel the same way.

My legs pumped harder and I flew higher. My voice warbled and I sang as loud as I could.

"Don't listen to them, cause what do they know? We need each other, to have and to hold. They'll see in time. I know. When destiny calls you, you've got to be strong. I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on. They'll see in time. I know, we'll show them together, cause you'll be in my heart. Yes you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and forever more."

I didn't know how much more I could take of this song, but I could hear it coming to a close, so I decided to finish it.

"Just look over your shoulder."

I saw a faint shadow come up behind me.

"Just look over your shoulder."

I saw it reach its hands out to me.

"Just look over your shoulder."

So I did.

"And I'll be there. Always."

Kyou was standing behind me, and as soon as I saw him, he pushed me forward.

I think I must have flown out of the swing because next thing I knew, I was on the ground.

"Did I really push you that hard?" Kyou asked, suppressing a giggle.

"No, you just… scared me, was all." Scared wasn't how I'd put it. Thrilled. Yes, I think thrilled was the word I was looking for.

He walked over and reached his hands out to mine. I took them and he pulled me to my feet. Actually, once again, I'm finding the wrong words. He pulled me up, I released his hands, and they ended up around his neck. He had practically thrown me into another hug. He gently placed his arms around my hips, and I could feel him grasp his wrist with his other hand.

I don't think I screamed, but I could have.

The sun was coming up over the city, and the sunrise was beautiful. Kyou was beautiful. Hell, even at that time of the morning on this perfect day, I'm sure that even I was beautiful. That morning, the sunrise was different than I'd ever seen it before: the sunrise was orange and purple. _Very appropriate_.

"Yuki?" Kyou asked.

I immediately tried to pull my arms from his neck, thinking he was uncomfortable.

"Oh no, that's not it. Please, put 'em back." He smiled, and I placed my arms back around his neck.

"I just," he started. I shouldn't have. I know I shouldn't have. But it was too perfect. And I don't think I was in complete control of my body. As soon as he started to talk, I perched myself on my tip toes and kissed him. Just a little kiss, nothing gaudy or terrifying, but just enough to make him stop talking.

I could feel his grip around my waist tighten. He was actually pulling me closer. I don't know when I came up for air, or if I even did, because I was breathing through my nose just fine. Kyou pulled his face from mine after a minute or two and started to breathe again.

He gave me the biggest smile I'd ever seen. All of the hate and anger he seemed to have for me for years and years seemed to flush away at that moment.

"Well, I guess that answers my question."

"Oh, you had a question?" I remarked.

"Yeah," he responded.

"What was that?" I teased.

"I was curious if you meant it when you said you missed me."

"I did. More than you know."

He smiled at that. "No, I think I do know. When I was over there, I missed you. I didn't know why. I thought I just missed trying to beat you every day. I guess I liked having you close to me. I missed the smell of lilacs."

"Lilacs?" I asked. "What's a lilac?"

"It's this purple flower I found in the States. It smells like you. Or you smell like it, one of the two."

_Purple. What is it with me and purple things?_

He continued.

"The more I thought about it, it wasn't our fighting that I missed so much: it was you. I thought I'd gone nuts, I thought I was mental. I had no idea what I was doing. Every night, I slept with a blanket curled up beside me. I thought it was a little odd at first, but it helped. Especially after I found those lilac bushes. But just the same, I missed you like crazy."

"So, question," I asked, interrupting his story.

"Huh?"

"Do you believe that I missed you?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

"Really Kyou?"

"Really really, Yuki. Really really."


	6. Kandie

Not the rave quite yet, but this scene seemed so good that it needed it's own chapter. Enjoy!

vilyx3: i do that all the time. go out to the park and swing and sing at the top of my lungs. kind of embarassing, but so much fun. i hope you enjoy this chapter as much as i do.

* * *

We walked back home from the park, and we kept running into each other. Either I would walk into him or he would walk into me. After the third or fourth time, he started to laugh. He just cracked up laughing right in the middle of the street. He looked at me and wrapped his arm around my waist. I scooted closer to him and put my arm around his waist, linking my forefinger in his belt loop. We didn't talk much during the walk home, but I don't think we really needed words. I didn't know how he felt about me, but for right now, this would do just fine.

We got home and unlinked. He opened the door for me, and I walked inside. Tohru was in the kitchen cooking, and as always, it smelled delicious. Not like peach pie, not like cinnamon, not like Kyou, but delicious none the less. I heard someone coming down the stairs, and Kyou and I jerked our heads over to see what it was. Not like we didn't know who it was, but sometimes we get surprised. Shigure finally came into view at the bottom of the stairs stretching his arms out as far as they could reach. I'm not even entirely sure that his eyes were open. He wandered over to the kitchen and then to the dining room to sit down. Kyou went into the kitchen, and I followed Shigure into the dining room.

"Ah, out for another morning swing, I see," Shigure said to me.

"Yes; I woke up early this morning and felt it would be a good start to the day." I knew it was the best start to any day I think I'd ever had, but he didn't need to know that.

Shigure looked back down at the paper he was reading and sipped coffee that he must have gotten from the kitchen. Kyou came in and sat next to me, and Tohru followed shortly with breakfast.

Uo was coming to pick us up at eight this evening for the rave. Kyou went upstairs at about four to go get dressed, and I was sitting outside reading a book. At about five thirty, I decided I should go up and get dressed too, just in case.

I walked into my room and stared blankly into my closet.

_What do you wear to a rave, exactly?_

I decided that I really didn't want to look like a clown, so I decided to ask the one person I knew would have the answer. I walked out of my room and found Kyou's door a few steps down the hallway. I knocked on his door and slid it open. I walked in and saw a Kyou that I was definitely not used to seeing.

Kyou was dressed in a tight black t-shirt and loose fitting jeans. His belt was black and the buckle was a big kanji sign, which I knew to say "cat", covered in some sort of fake crystals. _Glass probably_, I thought. He was wearing bright orange Converses and had a small silver chain around his neck. His hair was messy but gorgeous, and his eyes were bright. On his wrists he had added a few more bracelets, these ones all made of big neon plastic beads. They actually made his curse beads seem more natural, you could hardly distinguish them.

I stopped looking at him long enough to speak.

"Hey Kyou," I asked.

Kyou walked over to me, cute little crooked smile on his face.

"Yes?"

"I was just curious. What am I supposed to wear to this thing?"

"Probably not what you usually wear," he chuckled. "You actually own a pair of jeans, yeah?"

I did. Somewhere. Probably buried in my dresser.

"Yeah."

"Well, go put those on. You'll be dancing all night, and you don't want something that's gonna be too uncomfortable for you. And any shirt really. You just want to dress like you are the sexiest thing on earth. Everyone there is going to be leaking self-confidence, you don't want to seem unsure of yourself."

"Alright," I responded. "I'll go see what I can dig up, I'll change, and come back. We'll discuss more then."

"Can't wait," Kyou added. He winked at me and turned and walked away.

I had gone back to my room and actually found my jeans. By the time I was done, my hair was a little worse for wear, but I had on a very comfy pair of jeans, a pair of hiking boots, and a slightly tighter than normal violet t-shirt. I hoofed back to Kyou's room to get an opinion.

"So, how's it look?" I asked, not really sure if I wanted the response.

"You look good. Except for those shoes. Hiking boots Yuki? Really?"

I looked down at my hiking boots. They were very old and stained with holes in the side.

"You have any other suggestions?"

"Yes," he retorted, and promptly walked to his closet. He came back with a pair of shoes that looked just like his, only these were black.

"Put these on. They should fit just fine. Unless the dear sweet prince is afraid of wearing someone else's shoes." He was taunting me. Teasing me. _Asshole._

"Shut your mouth you stupid cat."

"Make me."

I was in the process of unlacing my hiking boots, so I took them off in a slow and calm manner, and when I was done, I looked back up at Kyou. Well, granted, I didn't look at him for long. In an instant, I had him pinned up against the wall. This was very unlike me, but it did feel wonderful.

I got on my toes again and kissed him. I put one hand behind his head and pulled him closer to me. I felt a hand come to the small of my back as he was reciprocating my thoughts. It must have been four or five times we broke for air until we finally broke apart.

"I told you to shut your mouth."

"Well it doesn't seem like it matters much now, does it?" Kyou's eyes were smouldering, and I knew it was dangerous. "You seemed to do a pretty good job of shutting it yourself."

I unglued myself from his front, and went back to the bed to sit down and put on his shoes. When I was done, I stood back up to get a final opinion.

"Better?" I asked.

"Much," he replied. "But you're still missing something. Oh, of course, I know," and with that, he walked to his dresser and pulled some more of those bracelets out of a small box.

"You need some kandie," he said to me.

"Candy? Aren't these bracelets?"

"Yes. Well, technically, they're bracelets that ravers wear. They call them kandie, spelled k-a-n-d-i-e, probably because they look kind of like candy. Jellybeans, M&M's and whatnot."

He was very delicately sorting out bracelets, putting them into piles. When he had finally gone through all of it, he put the big pile back and brought me a small handful.

"I'd like to give these to you. They're yours," he said. "There are only a few, but you'll get more, I promise. This one here is from Alison." He pulled out a single stranded red and white bracelet with a foam heart laced into it. He handed it to me, and I put it on my left wrist. "This one is from her best friend Chelsey," and he handed me one that looked like it was three or four bracelets laced together, all of the beads different shades of purple. "This one's from Joe." It was a three-stranded bracelet with what looked like light green beads. There was a little alien charm hanging from the bracelet. "It's glow in the dark," Kyou added. "Shows up in blacklight too."

I put my new bracelets on my wrists and looked back up at Kyou. He looked like he was still holding one in his hand, but it was clenched into a fist.

"Apparently, all of the ravers have nicknames, so when I went, I got one. I made you this bracelet and gave you your nickname. Hope it's alright."

He opened his fist to reveal a single stranded bracelet. The beads alternated black, white, purple and then orange. In the middle of my bracelet, there were some beads with letters on them, all different colors, that spelled out my nickname.

_Nezumi_.

"Mine says Neko on it. See?"

He showed me his wrist to display a matching bracelet with the word 'Neko' interlaced amongst the beads.


	7. Rave

I'm not dead. Come on now. I can't just leave this story un-updated. Lyrics are in bold, and they're from (please, don't laugh at me...) Edge's old theme music from WWF The Music 4. Shush. Just read on.

vilyx3: you can't imagine it?! yeah, well, i can't either. no worries. here it is, hope it's not TOO unbelievable.

Chibi Captain Hitsugaya: totally glad you love it. enjoy!

astoroche: yes, i'd like to say it's fargin' adorable. so pleased you like it!

XxTaintedxDaggerxX: can't wait? can't wait! well, no more waiting. read on, my friend. read on.

* * *

A few minutes later, Kyou and I were sitting downstairs waiting for Uo. He seemed totally ready to go out and party the night away. I, on the other hand, was a little nervous. I didn't dance, I didn't leak self-confidence, and I never wore my jeans in public. Ever. I don't even know why I'm going. Well, that's a lie, yes I do. I'm going because he's going. Uo inviting me helped, but still.

Uo came by the house at about eight. She was actually dressed like the clowns that Kyou had spoken of. She was wearing a magenta corset with black lace and big baggy black pants with big pink stars. Her hair was up in two little buns on the top of her head and she had kandie up past her elbows. She also had on several kandie necklaces. We said goodbye to Tohru and Shigure and climbed into Uo's little silver car. We drove for about twenty minutes and took a right turn onto a dirt road. About ten minutes down the dirt road, I saw the rave. Or at least what I thought was the rave. It was a big warehouse with multi colored lights flashing out of it. I could feel the base vibrations through the car's floorboards.

Uo parked in the makeshift parking lot and the three of us went up to the door.

"Tickets please," the guy at the door said. He was dressed vaguely like Kyou and I were, only his kandie went up to his elbows. Uo dug into one of her many pockets and pulled out three pieces of paper. She handed them to the gate keeper and he let us inside.

Inside was unlike anything I had ever seen. There was a huge mob of people in the middle of the warehouse, all jumping and twisting and turning. There were so many lights that no one even looked human. Everyone was vibrant colors of red and green and purple. There was a big DJ turn table at the front of the mob, and it looked like we were just catching the change of the song. The songs slowly faded and changed, and I felt a different vibration through my feet.

Uo and Kyou were both very excited. You could tell by the looks on their faces. Uo, after a few seconds of taking all of this in, went and jumped straight into the mob. Kyou, on the other hand, looked at me.

"You ready?" he asked.

"No," I replied. "But am I ever?"

He giggled. "No, not really."

I smiled at Kyou. This was incredible. I can't believe that not only is he talking to me, he's being nice to me. He's acting like he wants me around. Good gravy, I really hope he wants me around.

Kyou walked towards me and stood right in my path. He leaned down and we bumped foreheads. He nuzzled my nose and brought his mouth down to my ear so I could hear him.

"Just be careful. One, there are a lot of girls here, so try not to get particularly close to any of them. Two, you're here with me, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. And three, relax Yuki. You'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen to you. I promise."

I smiled. I liked knowing that Kyou was watching out for me.

He brought his head back up and cupped my face in his hand. Then he leaned down and kissed me. My stomach skyrocketed. He took his hand off of my face and placed it in mine. The two of us walked into the massive pit.

The two of us were dancing facing each other, so as to not provoke any girls to dance with us. The song changed again, but with this one, the lights changed too. The lights dimmed from green to purple, and they seemed to have turned the black lights on as well. A new rhythm beat through the speakers. The words rang clear.

**You think you know me.**

I loved being here. I loved being here with Kyou.

**You think you know me.**

I loved dancing with him. I didn't give a fuck what anyone else thought.

**You will never know me. **

I don't even think I cared what Akito thought. Granted, he wouldn't be happy, but nothing could take this feeling away from me.

**You are lost and scared.**

Kyou moved towards me, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

**You know what I allow you to know.**

I loved him. That fact had never been clearer.

The dancing went on for hours. Time seemed to warp in the rave. Some songs went on for seconds, others for hours. I didn't even realize what had passed until I saw Uo come up behind Kyou.

"Hey guys, you want to head home?"

Kyou turned around to face her.

"Sure. I'm getting a little tired. How 'bout you, Yuki? That okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. I was exhausted, but I wanted to stay with Kyou. I didn't want to live in secret anymore.

"Sounds like a plan then. But I need a smoke first."

The three of us found our way out of the pit and back towards the door, Kyou's hand in mine. Uo lead us to a small brick enclosure, and I wasn't quite sure what it was until I got there. It was a dumpster with 

this little cinderblock fortress around it. The three of us walked in. Uo sat in the corner and Kyou sat on the wall in front of her. I stood there for a few seconds, plotting carefully, and layed down on Kyou, my head on his lap.

Uo got a pack of cigarettes out of one of her many pockets and lit up. I stared up at the clear night sky and nuzzled my face into Kyou's belly. The sky was dark and full of stars, my pillow was warm and smelled like cinnamon. Life was good.

No, wait. Rephrase that.

Life was perfect.


	8. Tattoo

Here it is! The fantastic conclusion. Yay! It's late, I'm exhausted, but I felt so bad for leaving you all empty handed.

Please, please enjoy! For all of my loyal readers (yes, like, the three or four of you), you are amazing!

* * *

The ride home was like nothing I'd ever experienced. Uo hopped into the driver's side, while Kyou and I slid into the back seat. As she pulled the car out of the lot, I felt Kyou move in his seat – _wait a second, did he just move towards me?_ Of course, I was still feeling a ton of self doubt - performance anxiety, let's call it - about the whole situation, but sure enough, there he was, sitting closer to me than he was before. I took a deep breath and rested my head on his shoulder. He gently placed his head on top of mine and nuzzled it. Taking another fairly deep breath, I turned a little in my seat and wrapped my arm around his waist. Shock and awe to me, not only did he not throw me out of the car, but he put his hand on my forearm, obviously seeing if he could reach my hand and finding himself unsuccessful. I closed my eyes and enjoyed exactly where I was. Luckily for me, Uo kept driving.

He woke me up when we got home. It was late, but we both had keys, so there was no problem. We removed our shoes at the door, snuck up the stairs, and stopped in front of Kyou's door.

"Well," Kyou started. "I guess I should like, go inside and sleep, huh?"

"Yes," I replied. "That would be a fine idea. Although you may want to take those beads off beforehand, unless you want some interesting marks in the morning."

He looked at me like he didn't want to leave. It was odd, really. After all these years of being afraid of getting this physically close, not to mention emotionally, to Kyou, and now here we are, with him not seeming eager and thrilled to leave my side.

"Go to bed, Kyou," I said, as soothingly as I could. I could tell he was a little stressed out about the whole situation, and I didn't want to make it any harder than I already was.

He gave me a small nod and a small smile before dropping his head turning towards his door.

I stopped before I really knew what I was doing. I reached out and grabbed his face with my hand. He turned back towards me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Y'know, if you're having trouble sleeping, you can always come see me. You do know where I sleep," I said. I leaned my face closer to his while he tilted his down. Our foreheads touched, as did our noses. I gazed at him.

"I do," he responded. We closed our eyes and I nuzzled his nose with my own.

Without saying another word, I turned around and headed to my room. Closing the door behind me, I started to take off my costume of sorts, putting kandie on my dresser and my jeans in the hamper. I was almost in my sleeping pants when there was a very quiet knock on my door. Quickly pulling on the rest of my pants, I hobbled towards the door and opened it to find Kyou.

"You sort of caught me in the middle of something," I said bashfully. I looked down at my almost fluorescent white chest, and when I looked up, I could feel the roses in my cheeks.

"Not exactly," Kyou responded, being in the exact same dress as I was.

"At least you're keeping up with the dress code. Come in."

He walked in and shut the door. I went over to turn off the lamp on my dresser and walked back towards the bed.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Not really." Kyou grunted something and put his head down. I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"What is it?" _Like he would tell me._

"Promise you won't laugh at me!"

I giggled. "Shh!" I whispered. "Tohru and Shigure are asleep."

"Promise me, you damned rat!"

"Kyou, don't worry about it. Tell me."

"Promise?"

"Fine. I promise not to laugh at you, you stupid cat."

Kyou got a little red in the cheeks. It did go quite nicely with his orange hair and dark red eyes.

"I love you."

_Did I just hallucinate that?_

"What?" I shook my head like I had water in my ears, and Kyou's face turned bright red.

"I'm pretty positive that I love you. I know it's weird, like, the weirdest thing ever, but I do."

My stomach had dropped to my ankles.

"You know what?" I asked, not entirely sure that I wanted an answer.

"Huh?" He looked up at me like he was about to cry, like he wanted to run away, except he was sitting on my bed.

I sat down next to him on the bed, as close as I could be, and cupped one of my hands around his face. And making as little sense as I had ever made to myself before, I did it. I pulled his face closer to mine, until all I could see were his dark red eyes.

"I love you too." And I kissed him.

We sat like that, forehead to forehead and nose to nose, for quite some time before either of us moved. I went to go turn out the main light in my bedroom and Kyou stood up and looked like he was ready to leave.

"Leaving?" I asked.

He looked like he didn't want to go, but was leaving anyways.

"You can stay, if you want." I flashed him a big smile. And, like a small child, his face lit up and he grabbed me in his arms and flung us both onto the bed. In the dark, I crawled up next to him, laid my head on his chest, and laced his fingers with mine.

The world was dark and quiet, and I was thoroughly enjoying my life. I was here, in my bed, with the man that I loved more than I thought I could love, with no one to judge me or laugh at me. I almost fell asleep, but there was something keeping me awake.

And then it hit me.

"Hey Kyou?" I asked quietly?

He groaned in response.

"Did something happen to the back of your neck?"

He opened his eyes and turned towards me. "What?"

"Remember that night you came home in the rain? Well, you transformed, and there was a little patch of black fur on the back of your neck. It just confused me was all."

He giggled and rolled his eyes. "Oh. That."

"That's a that?"

"Yeah," he retorted. "Let me show you."

He flipped over on his back and brushed the hair from the back of his neck to reveal a dark spot. But as he moved into the moonlight, it became more and more clear. I got down, looking at it and there, plain as day, was a tattoo on the back of Kyou's neck. I looked at it and couldn't really believe it.

"Why on earth did you get that?"

"I told you I missed you, didn't I? And I guess you don't exactly believe me. After a while, it got so bad not having you around, well, I put a piece of you on me."

I flipped his head back towards me and kissed him. The two of us fell asleep that night, curled and wrapped up in each other's arms, as we belonged. Me, having a new sense of confidence and a little better understanding about the insanities of life, and Kyou, with a fresh kanji tattoo on the back of his neck.

Nezumi, it read. Loud and clear.

* * *

Thanks everyone, so much.


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